But it remains to be seen, however, if the Calgary aldermen and Edmonton councillors – representing nearly two-thirds of Albertans – can get on the same page, or all find time to. An unwitting scheduling mistake means the first gathering Calgary has proposed effectively excludes Edmonton Mayor Stephen Mandel.

Alas, for reasons of space, the explanation of that mistake was cut because it couldn’t fit. So here it is:

Aldermen planned the luncheon for Sept. 29, during the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association convention in Calgary. When I first heard about that date from Ald. Jim Stevenson, I immediately realized I wouldn’t be able to cover it, because that’s Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year.

Yesterday, I remembered that Edmonton’s mayor is also Jewish. I checked with Patricia Misutka, Mandel’s chief of staff, and she confirmed that Mandel’s religious observance would mean he would be at synagogue instead of the luncheon, even if he had been pushing for a “big-cities framework” since the Bronconnier days.

Nenshi expressed some embarrassment about the date issue, although he didn’t schedule it. He said that he hasn’t discussed the more recent Calgary plans for the two-city strategy with Mandel, though they have spoken on it before.

“We haven’t had a chance to catch up on it lately, but in my mind it just makes sense for us to work together,” Calgary’s mayor said.

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